Hitherto, in the art of ink-jet printing, a common technique for feeding paper or other media to a printhead has involved the use of pinch or feed rollers which are specifically dedicated to the transferring of paper from a paper tray to the area of the printer between the printhead and the paper support member (platen) adjacent thereto. In this latter area, there is required an additional paper drive mechanism used to continue the transport of the paper past the printhead and printing zone and onto a paper collection tray or the like. Indeed, often a third drive is used with respect to transporting the paper to the paper collection tray.
Thus, the printer drive assembly requires a first drive mechanism for transporting paper out of the paper supply tray and a second paper drive mechanism for transporting paper past the printhead and into the paper collection tray. The requirement of multiple paper drive mechanisms adds to the cost and complexity of the ink-jet printer.
In addition, such prior ink-jet printers must deal with the problem of ink drying, unless specially coated paper is employed. If no mechanism is provided for drying the ink, then, with the rapid output of paper, one sheet is placed in the paper output tray before the ink on the sheet underneath has had an opportunity to dry, thereby causing smearing of the print on the lower sheet. One common mechanism is to provide some sort of drying means, such as a lamp or heater. However, such a requirement also adds to the complexity of the printer, since a power source, lamp or other heating device, and associated apparatus must be provided. Such apparatus also adds to the weight of the ink-jet printer.
It is desired to reduce the cost and complexity of the printer, while simplifying the components and their interactive association.